Brand of garden mulch can kill dogs

I am forwarding this message from a notice sent via our Pug Meetup group in Portland, Oregon. It's important to know:

It was reported that over the weekend, the owner of two young labs purchased "Cocoa Mulch" from Target to use in their garden. The dogs loved the way it smelled. It was advertised to keep cats away from gardens. One dog (Calypso) decided the mulch smelled good enough to eat and devoured a large helping. She vomited a few times which was typical when this dog eats something new, but wasn't acting lethargic in any way. The next day, the owner took the dog out for her morning walk. Half way through the walk, the lab had a seizure and died instantly.

Although the mulch had NO warnings printed on the label, upon further investigation on the company's website, this product is HIGHLY toxic to dogs and cats

Cocoa Mulch is manufactured by Hershey's, and the company claims that "It is true that studies have shown that 50 percent of the dogs that eat Cocoa Mulch can suffer physical harm to a variety of degrees (depending on each individual dog). However, 98 percent of all dogs they claim "won't eat it."

Cocoa Mulch, which is also sold by Home Depot, Foreman's Garden Supply and other garden supply stores contains a lethal ingredient to dogs and cats called Theobromine. It smells like chocolate and it really attracts dogs. They may ingest this stuff and could die. Several dog deaths have already been reported to have occurred in the last 2-3 weeks.

Theobromine is in all chocolate, especially dark or baker's chocolate, which is toxic to dogs. Cocoa bean shells contain potentially toxic quantities of Theobromine, a xanthine compound similar in effects to caffeine and theophylline.

A dog that ingested a lethal quantity of garden mulch made from cocoa bean shells developed may experience severe convulsions and death within one day.**KEEP YOUR PUG SAFE.**

"And now we have lost sweet Tin Tin, beloved by Puggirl. Pugs come into our lives to brighten them, and that is exactly what they do. Sweet Tin Tin, please find our puggies that have gone on before us and tell them we still remember…"